I'm also not going to say a lot for now (what a boring post!) except that the stone archway on this card represents, to us, new beginnings. A leaving behind of an old life and the taking up of a new. Maybe a rather more profound significance than is usual in this card - but then, it's just our association with this particular archway.

We also find references to the "yellow brick road" here - it's one reason that the path is golden.

Now I'll stop and look forward to hearing other's interpretations.

(Oh, this card is also our "New Year" card - so it's come a little early!)

I like the idea of the ace representing New Beginnings. That the humble coin, the symbol of what anchors us to the earth, should also represent what germinates within (the earth, and us) - so be a grain as well as a coin, with the symbolic weight grain carries - somehow seems fitting. Beginnings are not in large fanfare. Beginnings take root unseen.

I am struck, too, by the towers. We are reminded, of course, of card 16, the Tower - the illumination, the event that precipitates us into history, that opens the crack from which we can emerge from our usual sleep to meet the Divine, or the Other, or Ourselves. Here, a small tower and a large tower, for there are small events and large events, small epiphanies, large epiphanies, and in the birth of the new, we do not know which we shall encounter - but encounter one, or both, we shall.

I am also reminded of mountain climbing - the path winds up a hill, and leads from stage to stage (the archway, the small tower, the large tower, which is the goal, presumably). When we climb, we know we want to reach the top, but we also take it stage by stage, and fix our energies on reaching the next one. That way, we are not overwhelmed by the magnitude of the effort required.

You are being given a chance for a new beginning that will definitely lead to something much better than what you are already experiencing. It has to be better because it is the Golden Ace of opportunity. You begin with One and out of one will come many and the benefits and blessings will multiply. Seed time, crop time, harvest time. YES! The sun is shining upon you now. Much prosperity in matters of spirit, soul, body, and of course, materially, financially. Real blessings await you, but, you must DO something to enact it.

A portion will be handed to you, new ideas, new ways of seeing the world around you, strength, a new flow. Favor is now being shown you, however, there is an "opening" a "doorway" so to speak that you MUST go through to realize your dream. On the other side it is all waiting for you. If you remain immobilized, motionless, you will remain with what you have been given thus, far, whatever that is. If you act, you will find that the path is there before you, the direction is laid out to get to the top of that which you have strived for and desired. The steps will be shown to you as you move forward. Climb them and do not fear success. Now, as you climb, and you begin to see what wonderful things you are being given, and you are tempted to ask, "Could all of this really be mine," assure yourself that you are indeed worthy; climb with confidence.

If the steps seem rocky, continue. If you stumble, continue. If you feel fear, do it anyway. Be careful of looking back; continue on the forward path. Aim high - a step at a time. When you reach the first level of attainment, it will again be up to you, whether you will be satisfied there or want to go further.

Keep in mind that with each new level of attainment there is a new level of responsibility, challenges, temptations, so many more choices. The bigger the castle, the more windows there are to look out of. It can be overwhelming. However, you must have done something to arrive at this place (seeds were planted). Not to worry. You are where you need to be and you are prepared for the journey. No one can have your particular destiny, so it waits. It is looking for no one else, but, you to claim it. Now, GO!

I see two initial elements to this card; the hand holding the Pentacle and the Gate. Only after this do I see all of the other features.

The Pentacle with the Sun on it also has eight petals that strike me as a compass rose, a means of ascertaining ones direction relative to the North point. The hand is, in terms of perspective, quite close and is almost thrusting the pentacle upon the viewer. The North point is aligned with the gate in the wall.

The foreground gate leads from a rough area to stairs that lead to an rich and vibrant autum scene; orange trees, hedges, trees that have just lost their leaves. All of this suggests a time of harvest, and by extension, a place of abundance. The white walls and inviting entrance beckons those who have entered the outer gate and climbed the stairs. So, to this point, we have an offering (pentacle) thrust before our eyes, an opportunity (the gate), some work to do (climbing the stairs), a sense of anticipation and motivation to move foreward (the tended autum area and the white walls and open doorway.

Beyond the white villa or small palace, which in itself may be the reward that the pentacle offers (if our vision and needs stop us there), lies a hill and a further climb to a vast building that may possibly contain just about everything one might hope to find. Blue sky and sunshine augment the pentacle's sun emblem; what is promised can also now be seen. Perhaps the angled walls pick up on the compass rose theme, offering a world, many choices of direction. Or, suggesting that the world is within.

So, in summary, the Pentacle is thrust upon us, leaving us to go foreward and then (once we start) enticing us further forward and offering opportunity and adventure, offering a higher vision, offering either what we need or what we can take in as new and greater possibilities. Possibilities, no guarantee. Dave.

Everything you need is at hand. Cross through the doorway and begin the journey. This is not a race. Life rewards at every ascension. Know what has been given you by sharing yourself with others along the way. This is a forward, uplifting, and positive card.

I looked at the card again. I see in it the kind of slow-burning energy needed at the inception of a long-term project, that might take us through all sorts of winding roads, and will sometimes feel like we are not getting anywhere, though we are. The Universe (the hand) hands us this energy when we need it, and it will grow with us if we know how to husband it and not scatter it. One coin, which can grow to many.

This, of course, reinforces both the grain and the mountain-climbing analogy I get from this card.

The most important things to me in this card are the hand with the coin, the gate and the stairway.

The coin is being presented to us and this I think represents an opportunity but I also thought of 'a gift' too. A gift can be many things ... a present, an opportunity, a talent? The 'opening' in the wall could just be what we are looking for. Taking that step through the gateway into the world on the other side where everything is bathed in sunlight maybe a golden opportunity not to be missed.

I got to thinking about Karen's analogy with the yellow brick road because it is something I always think of myself. The yellow stairs and pathway just trigger this saying. I began to think about the film the 'Wizard of Oz' and what it was all about. I kept coming back to the fact that Dorothy wanted to get home, but think about her friends in that film; the lion, looking for his courage, the tin man looking for his feelings and the scarecrow looking for his brain and WOW what a journey? Isn't that the journey we are all on? By the end of the film, they are all integrated.

Maybe this is the message here, go through the gateway, find all those different elements within yourself and bring them together. It is a beautiful card.

Recently I listened to a lecture on stairways. For a person with joint pain, it is easier to ascend than descend. Also, for a person with visual difficulties, it is easier to ascend than descend. Descent is dangerous. From the top of a staircase, the steps visually all blend together. Looks like one great big fall. From below, however, light makes each rising step easier to see.

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